Beginning today, Spotify will allow select independent artists to directly upload their music through their Spotify For Artists account. The program, currently at the beta stage, has been tested with a small group of artists, including VIAA, Hot Shade, Michael Brun, and Noname. It will become available to a few hundred U.S. based independent artists, with more artists able to sign up for future invites.

Artists who control their own copyrights without current label agreements in place can log into a Spotify For Artists account, upload music, fill in metadata, preview the upload, and set the song to release at a pre-scheduled time–an easy-to-use way to bypass distributors entirely.

Spotify For Artists’ senior product lead, Kene Anoliefo, spoke to Billboard about the new program:

“We’ve focused on making the tool easy, flexible and transparent… There will be no limit or constraint on how often they can upload. We think that can open up a really interesting creative space for artists to begin sharing their music to their fans on Spotify.”

Spotify has already made waves in the last year with its subtle rollout of select direct licensing deals, a program that has given music industry executives pause for its potential to bypass existing distribution channels. With this new move, it is clear Spotify is setting out to provide a genuine alternative for distribution, even if in the nascent stages.